Biology Practicals Blueprint of Life

Perform a firsthand investigation or gather information from secondary sources (including photographs/ diagrams/models) to observe, analyse and compare the structure of a range of vertebrate forelimbs

Comparative anatomy Structures in common are evidence of similar inherited characteristics from common ancestors Structural homology (similar structure). Example: the pentadactyl limb Most land vertebrates show same pentadactyl (five-digits) limb pattern in arm and leg bones Mammalian forelimbs are said to be homologous structures In bats, the limb is modified to form a wing with the fingers extended and skin stretched between each finger. Whales have within their single paddle-like fin a fully formed pentadactyl limb. Inherited this from aquatic ancestors, the lobe-finned fish Shows that natural selection has kept the gene for this trait and differences are suited to the environment of the organism.